[MShawnte]

Hello Everyone.

My story begins in 2007 where I was told that I had low platelets and low white blood cells. My primary care physical referred me to a hematologist where I got a bone marrow biopsy showing that my bone marrow had 20% cellularity and absent storage iron. I was around 25 years old at the time. I was then prescribed iron tablets and was given monthly injections of vitamin B12. My then-specialist never really explained what was going on with my bone marrow, so I stopped going to my appointments. This year, 2011, I had a physical and my platelets and white blood cells were still low so I asked if I could be referred to a new specialist. The new specialist explained to me what hypocellular bone marrow was and mentioned having a new bone marrow biopsy to see if anything changed. I'm scared of biopsies because I had an anxiety attack after my first one where my whole body had to be iced down due to a rapid increase in my body temperature. Again, I was prescribed iron pills to see if my blood counts would increase. I haven't exactly been compliant with taking the pills because I feel really sick when I take them. My blood counts are still low. I believe my red blood cells were a little low as well. During one of my appointments, my new specialist was switched with another specialist, and she also brought up having another bone marrow biopsy. She gave me more time to take iron pills. Last week, she gave me a call asking if anyone mentioned anything about me having aplastic anemia. I told her no. We talked, and I told her I'd come in to discuss having another biopsy, so I will probably have another one next month. This time, she said I can be given anti-anxiety medication before the procedure.

My WBC had gone up from 2.4 to 3.2, but my primary care physician said that it may be because I have an infection somewhere. My platelets are 107, and my iron levels are 19, which is at the lower end of the normal range, but my specialist feels it should be higher since I'm a female. I hope someone can figure out what is going on, because I'm confused about my present condition. I do know that from now on I'm going to stay on top of knowing my lab results and not leave it up to a doctor to explain things to me. The past has shown that they don't tell me important information. I feel like if my first hematologist told me my bone marrow wasn't performing, I would have been more proactive about treatment.